Tainted

'I am the last of a dying breed. I have the capacity to dramatically alter your life; I also have the ability to take your life at my leisure. At the minimum, I have the power to do so."

Sebastian Alzmek has it all.influence, power, beauty, and AIDS.

When he emotionally died a decade ago, he buried an insecure, unattractive individual and erased his past. Now he lives a second life based on society's perception, using his silence to mark his victims and make them part of his secret society of the undead.

Sebastian is on a one-man campaign to remind the world that AIDS is still alive. No one can stop him from his hunt-not the law, the CDC or even the victims themselves. His charisma not only intoxicates them, but also fools them into believing he is 'normal."

His past soon catches up with him, and he is reminded that life itself is beautiful, even though it is too late. At the end of the journey, Sebastian asks the ultimate question: was it worth the fight, or will history repeat itself?

Raul Guzman is a native Angeleno who now resides in San Francisco. Tainted is his first novel.